T for.....

Its looks like T for television or tiger is going to be substituted for Telangana or trouble and B would likely befriend bandh.In all the chaos for this seperate state one has still to get a clear picture as to why is the public so cantankerous in it's way of approach.Is it true that people have been deprived of the positions they genuinely deserve merely because they belong to another province?If it is so why has the voice of such victims been silent for so long?
Amongst apparent problems like poverty,illiteracy,effects of recession and such,is this issue as grave as it is projected to be?For all the reasons and masquerade put forth by our leaders are they sincere or are they demagouges?
For a representative of public feelings,isn't it ironic that it could not see or understand the loss it has caused for the same?businesses which ran into losses,education institutions being closed for long periods,busses being burnt......are all these a path to their ultimate destination or is this a preview of what's to come if authorities give in.......?

Wild goose chase?

The UIDAI agency established in February 2009 by the government of India giving carte blanche to Nandan Nilekani, will provide a unique number to all Indians by owning and operating a unique identification number database.This is a giant stride that can change the face of the country.
(For those who’ve missed the news, which is most unlikely though).

Some of the unparalleled benefits post-implementation of this audacious project are:

-
1.Ensures that lacunas in the UPA flagship schemes (NREGA, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Food Security Act,etc) will be removed so that the benefits do not reach those they aren't meant for.

2.It can bolster up the country's security issues by addressing illegal immigrants problem and terrorist threats(But isn't it difficult to spot out "who an Indian is and who is not" even though strategically dealt?)Only time can prove the effectiveness of this project in curbing terrorism and security threats.

3.Controls corruption (the biggest evil gripping Indian society today) at Govt offices.
Bank transactions involving "big amount not matching salary" will be tracked.

4.It will help address the rigged state elections by rendering more transparent and efficient voting.

5.Serves as a tool to overcome red tapism in government offices.
Normal citizens will benefit by reduction of "yeh form do, woh form do" hassles - it is going to make Govt. transactions much simpler.We wouldn't have to stand in long queues,and grease our palms to get the work done.
(I hope it's not too early to imagine that India! Or is it, Mr. Nilekani?)

6.Helps providing huge database for planners to launch new schemes that can tackle several problems facing the country.
-

The other aspects are...
-
The cost involved in this project is a whopping Rs.1.5 lakh crore.Why not divert that amount to poverty and children malnutrition issues that are hindering our progress! Is this project worth the cost?
Poor individuals, especially women and other marginalized groups, rarely have legal proof of identity, address or employment.There are 75 million homeless people, tribals who don't have birth certificates, driver's license, passport,etc.Helping them getting an ID is actually empowering them.

Voter ID cards, PAN cards, SMART cards..how many more cards do we stuff in our wallet?
If a lot of sweat has been shed over implementing the PAN, why not extend the PAN to cover everyone!?Also,at present, roughly 80 per cent of India’s citizens have an electoral card.It can be easily expanded to convert into a master card for a specified set of purposes.
Many people have multiple PAN cards, many don't have a single one and the govt probably has a lot of distorted incomplete databases. So they are aiming at building a single database of every citizen of India which would enable people to receive the benefits they are entitled to.
This way,Unique ID is surely answer to India's many problems.


It is not necessary that corruption is limited to government-run organizations.Corruption is widespread in the private sector,too.What if this project just like any other project taken up before gets fouled up in course of time?
Judging just from the fact that Manmohan Singh picked a corporate maestro to head this project rather than a sycophant politician from the cabinet, he looks like he's looking for a clean, corruption-free delivery.Last but not least,Nandan Nilekani is famous for his ethics and values.(Hopefully no scams will be discovered in the future to rebut this)
-

Loopholes in this project are...

-
How will it be able to reach people living in rural areas having no IT infrastructure?

Will the information in the database be safe or will it be a goldmine for hackers who can misuse it for various  purposes?
“Functionality creep” can come about where the database can serve purposes other than its original intent. This is a legitimate concern to be addressed.

Looking at the population figure,enrolment and authentication of 1.16 billion people besides gaining ubiquity is certainly a mammoth task. No scheme on this scale has been undertaken anywhere in the world.Smaller and less ambitious systems have encountered substantial technological and operational problems that are likely to be amplified in a large-scale, national system.

Also,the technology envisioned for this scheme is, to a large extent, "untested and unreliable".This may create a range of new and unforeseen problems.
-

Transparency and Discussion is the need of the hour. I wish I had a chance to sneak into Mr.Nilekani's mind to know how his implementation plan actually looks like.
One can't expect it to do much to change the current rot in the Indian system and it is no panacea to the problems - but it can be seen as another system that can ease our lives,not transform it altogether.
All we can do is,be patient, settle at a mildly optimistic attitude and hope that for once, the execution of this project will be as good as it sounds.
Just assuming for a minute that this ear-pleasing government proposal does manage to show some notable results for a change alongside wiping out the loopholes, we have reason to celebrate, don't we?

FREEDOM-- SLIP of TONGUE

We are free to learn, to quench our thirst for knowledge,

to study.....

but, yeah there is a small twist in the story.....

they get to decide the education system, cut-offs,

grade v/s marks system and reservation, obvious.

With 49% of reservation for OBC's,

"GENERAL is the new minority"

We are free to love.....

hmm...but if could limit thse hugs and V-cards to

the four walls of your house

(you see, its our duty to cooperate with Moral Polic-ing

......rite?)

We are free to munch in pizzas and burgers and pastries

all day...........

but see, the detailed report on the 25,000- crore rice scam

and measures adopted to check the disappropriation in food distribution

system is too much for our limited intelligence to comprehend.......

We are free to lodge the complaint, cases in court......

sincere apologies, but you gotta wait for a couple of years

.....you see,,... there is a huge backlog of cases; judges gone

for the vacations; bill for speedy disposal of cases ;

yet to be passed by parliament..

so, do you mind waiting in that Queue? thankyou....

We are free enough to gather info about the net-worth, asset

& revenues(thanks to wikipedia).....

but ain't enough to estimate "7000- crore scam".....

...you see,....the balance sheets are not always transparent;

it has the shades of transculcency @ times.......

_____________________________________________

the freedom redefined....../////

BRANDED as GANDHI

The write choice--
the Gandhi edition of the luxury brand pen has gold threads
around it & has an image of Gandhi in gold on the nib.
according to reports, the 241 edition is 11.67 lakhs.

Bapu on my bag--
There is no end to Gandhi merchandise on the net.
there are t-shirts, mugs, cards & even skateboards!!
The skate-board, in case you wanna put your feet
on something that says..."Gandhi disobey"! for 3067
only......

"Gandhi...for gourmands"--
Try a net search for 'Gandhi Restaurants'.
There are 100's of eatries named 'Gandhi' spread
across muliple continents coz ''aakhir indian cheez
ki pehchaan aur kisse hoti he''???
(very true)

Gandhi for Sale--
The varous auctions of Gandhi's belongings never
fails to evoke the patriotic fervour. NRI's
Sir Ghulam Noon & Prof Puri bought set of
letters for 10000 pounds and presented to
Indian government. Vijay Mallaya, bought
5-personalised items for 8.8 crores from James Otis.
////////////////////////////////////////////////

A man who represented simple, frugal life....who was the icon of
simple living and high thinking, is used all
over the world to sell everything from mugs to foods,
minting millions as.....
"GANDHI IS THE BRAND OF THE ERA"

The hare and the Tortoise

As China marched forward, the world felt the rumbles. Everyone was left gaping with awe. The rise of a mighty nation was unraveled in glory. Never before was red so scintillating, never before was the message so audible.

Far west, the Empire State building turned yellow-red, signifying the acknowledgement of the uni-polar world of the emergence of yet another power, a coequal. Amidst all this, a forgotten nation, which once considered itself an equally potent competitor, was mired in contemplation of whether or not it could match China's rising spree. Yes, now India shares its border with the world’s youngest superpower.

I wonder why democracy is misused to overshadow matters of strategic importance in our nation. Does being engrossed in trivial issues like whether or not we should continue erecting statues of politicians make us more democratic? This is how China has an edge over us by being socialistic. And this is the very reason why we should question ourselves of whether or not we Indians are worth being democratic.

Taking into consideration the military prowess of both the nations, India seems to have been left limping behind both in the capabilities of the conventional and the nuclear forces. So there's a dire need for us to work towards narrowing down the differences with our mighty rival, and there better not be another 1962.

If there’s anything we enjoy, it’d be the lauding of us being an accelerating economy. We sure like to give ourselves a pat on the back and exaggerate anything that is even faintly like a dulcet. But when we giving it a reality check it’s not hard to say that the Chinese definition of growth is a little more advanced. China has consistently maintained a G.D.P. growth of over 9 per cent while India’s has been somewhere around 6 per cent. Even this growth seems superficial and the benefits don’t seem to be percolating in. The disparities between the rich and the poor, and the urban and the rural is still cavernous. In comparison to the Chinese nation, a vast majority of our population lives under the poverty line.

I wonder how India and China are even considered to be locked in a fierce competition considering the disconnected reality which is a world apart from what’s being projected. And if the reality is what is apparent from the figures, it’ll only take kindergarten-ish I.Q. for one to figure out who the hare is and who the tortoise is.

http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-economy/india-vs-china.html
http://www.abytheliberal.com/internationalism/india-vs-china-military-conventional-nuclear

The Blame Game

In these flooded times am getting to see a hidden face or rather the balantly shammed mask of our politicians.Switching on the television I watch the timely updates of all those areas which seem to be submerged due to the fury of the belated rains.Along with this there is also an ongoing drama about the Irrigational department blaming the residing political party of not providing adequate funds,the Meteorological department blaming the Irrigational department for not heeding to their warnings and the political party defending themselves saying they are not either responsible for the ignorance of the irrigational officers or for the negligence of the Meteorological department and trying to show themselves in good light by pointing out the efforts made by them.

Am in a dilemma here thinking whether I should appreciate their effort(read their duty) or applaud their preprepared answers to any question one might ask.As the scale of danger keeps rising the military forces are seen in this picture bringing along a hope for some sincere work to be done.While they seem to be slogging as hard as they can the woes of affected people touch my heart.The stark lack of humanity even in such situations sears it.I get to read about a man demanding a huge sum to save a family....I wish to corner him between the devil and the deep sea to see what might he do if he's stuck with nothing to give and I make such an atrocious demand.While I seem to be pointing out people with flaws even I am a part of this blame game.This makes me hope that alteast we ordinary people should learn not shrink from our moral,social,ethical or humanitarian responsibility towards others,unlike our supposed to be protectors-our politicians in name and their name in fame alone!!

A New Beginning

Numerous thoughts, umpteen aspirations and myriad setbacks.
At times, snapshots of memories of those good old days came back to me. Memories of those days when I had pointed to the night sky and told my mum that, "One day, I'll be that star," choosing the brightest from the star-sprinkled dark sky. I'd then be contended, taking it for granted that I would, one day, be the brightest, the most sought-after and the most loved. Then I was proved wrong over and over again. The definition of reality was a world apart from the fanciful la la land that I'd imagined it to be.
It's only when you realise that having a dream is one thing and going after them is just another, that things start falling in their right places. Set backs are a part of every endeavor. So don't fear falling but learn to acknowledge it. It's only through tumbling feet that you learn walking, and eventually, chase down your dreams.
So this time, dream and dare to fail; Again, and again, and again. But NEVER EVER LET GO.
Let this be a new beginning.